Children born by caesarean section have fewer helpful bacteria in their gut and this could affect the development of their immune system, a new study has found. Caesarean babies also have fewer chemicals in their gut, which are known to reduce allergic responses. Swedish scientists looked at the way in which bacteria colonised in the
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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) says it is investigating a food poisoning outbreak of the Hepatitis A virus linked to the consumption of imported frozen berries. As a precautionary measure, the FSAI is advising people to boil all imported frozen berries for at least one minute prior to eating. It says 10 cases
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Irish scientists have made an important research discovery on how vitamin A, found in green and root vegetables, can protect against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Inflammatory bowel disease includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and it affects over 15,000 people in Ireland. The damaging inflammation in these conditions is assisted by immune cells that penetrate
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There has been sharp rise since the end of last year in the number of public patients waiting over three months for colonoscopies, according to latest figures. According to the Department of Health’s National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF), there were only 24 patients awaiting a ‘non urgent’ colonoscopy for longer than three months at the
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An major awareness campaign for oesophageal cancer takes place later this week. Ireland has one of the highest rates of this cancer, with around 450 new cases diagnosed each year. The Lollipop Day campaign will take place on Friday and Saturday of this week. The campaign was launched today by Health Minister James Reilly, who
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Markets where exotic pets are sold have been deemed a major public health concern, after scientists discovered infection risks. Scientists studied pet markets in the UK, Germany and Spain and found that all attendees were potentially subject to some level of contamination through pets spreading germs. They also found that visitors to these centres,which sell
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The Department of Health has reported a major reduction in the number of people waiting for a colonoscopy test, which is often used to check for bowel cancer. The numbers waiting over three months for a ‘non-urgent’ colonoscopy dropped by 65% between the end of June and the end of August, latest figures show. There
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Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) also experience anxiety, chronic gastrointestinal (GI) problems and heightened reactions to light, sound or particular textures, according to a new study in the US These problems appear to be highly related and can have significant effects on children’s daily lives, including their functioning at home and in school.
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Obese children have less sensitive taste-buds than kids of normal weight, according to new research. This blunted ability to distinguish all five tastes of bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and umami (savoury) may prompt them to eat larger quantities of food in a bid to register the same taste sensation, suggest doctors. They base their findings
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Health Minister James Reilly has said the planned national bowel cancer screening programme will be introduced by the end of the year. The Minister told the Dail that plans for the implementation of a national colorectal screening programme are at an advanced stage within the HSE-National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) and the programme will be
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